What personalities make up your flock

[seminolewind]

I find that all my different breeds have their own personality:

Buff Orpington-all work and very timely
Jersey Giants-time for work, time to be curious, time to check me out, time to scratch. Time to peck at my pants if I'm not paying attention. Never complain if they're hugged.
Polish girls-just airheads, sometimes staring into space for no reason, aloof, have to have what someone else has
Faverolles-inquisitive, friendly, not mean, not alpha hens, happy go lucky
EE/Ameraucanas- friendly, always checking if I have food with me
silkies-just plain evil

 

[GreenGoddess]

My flock shows different personality traits depending on if they are free ranging or in the run..

In Run:

3 production red pullets are cautious but will let me put them as long as they are on the roost or sitting on top of nest boxes.. Otherwise, they follow the *boss* (head roo) around.

Head pr roo is very bossy.. He will yell at me when I am walking towards the run to either tell me they are hungry, thirst or want OUT! lol He also likes to attach the thick weedy roots we have out back while yelling at me when I approach the run.. Maybe someone can shed a little light on that behavior??

Secondary pr roo is much more skiddish than all of them but I also have not handled him as much as the others in fear of getting too attached to him and then having to give him up due to potential problems with him and the head roo (so far as not been a major problem)..

6 barred rocks (two roos and 4 pullets) always stay out of the way of the older pr's.. They are much more docile but also much more sociable than the pr's.. They stick close by each other.. Safety in numbers i guess..

Free Range:

3 production red pullets will not let me near them until they have been out for a little while.. They seem to like their independence and freedom too much.. They also like to keep the br's in line...

Head pr roo looks for food for the girls and stays very close to the flock at all times.. Always very cautious and watches everything.. Also, likes to test me when he knows he's not supposed to go in a part of the yard and watches me like a child out of the corner of his eye *WHILE* he's doing it..

Secondary pr roo Likes to go out on his own away from the rest of the flock but never too far.. He seems very independent when free ranging..

6 br's are a handful while free ranging.. They are *always* all over the place.. Going into places they aren't supposed to be and splitting up.. It's almost as if they have figured out that if they go different ways, I can't catch them all.. Most times, they are the last to go back into the run because they will start to go towards the gate and then dart the other way.. All in all, they are still much more sociable even free ranging and when they are not trying to get "into trouble", they will allow me to pick them up without a squabble..

Goddess

 

[dappertophatter]

There are:

the fast spy planes, my Polish, who regularly pop over the ten foot fence and fly up to the seond story deck to eat the weeds in the deck pots.

the jet bombers, the partridge Cochins, who can wheel and land with precision anywhere they please, as long as it's not more than two feet off the ground.

the OOPS! so sorry I crashed into you! girls, the Mottled Cochins, who yell at the top of their lungs and they blast acros the yard and crash into the fence with lots of noise.

 

[Chickenmaven]

I agree that Polish are not so *with it*. I have to make sure I don't startle them or they startle ME.

My Andalusians and Cochins are busy bodies. They are first to the gate and first to snag a snack. One of my Andalusians knows her name & a hand signal that permits her to fly up onto my arm. My sole turken is a dominator and will rip a bag of snack right out of your hands. That said, I think my Dominiques are all a chicken should be. They are calm, yet active and very pretty. We bring one particular girl to visit school kids. She is perfectly fine with being passed around & held.

 

[seminolewind]

You guys crack me up! I have to laugh at the similarities

 

[GraceAK]

I have a very simple "flock dynamic" because I only have the 2 chickens....

I have a dominant, inquisitive Rock. She pecks me if I'm not paying attention. She tries to keep Jerry away from the treats, which irks me a bit. >:C
I also have a shy, bottom-of-the-pecking-order Wellie who is nervous of me if I move toward her, but will cautiously eat out of my hand.

 

[RocketDad]

We had a hawk show up on the fence one day, and it revealed a lot about the girls.

Ginger - Red Star - The most friendly, very inquisitive. She's first to try any "new" thing I introduce. Like the usual treats in a different bowl

Aggressive about getting food first, but she's never taken a day off from laying, so who can blame her? She's earned it! Layes her egg first thing in the morning, usually, and sometimes before dawn. When the hawk came, I thought she had been "hit" because I couldn't find her -- she didn't show back up for 5 minutes, and I never did figure out where she hid.

Crystal - White Rock - Dumb as a shoe. She could get lost in a nestbox, and she knows it, so she tends to hang close to the coop and run, even when the other girls are running free. Fairly friendly, wants to sit on your shoulder, has since being a chick. Not very confident. When the hawk came she ran into the henyard and "hid" in a corner where she was in plain view.

Flower - Egyptian Fayoumis - Like having a wild animal around. She's mellowed over the winter, but she's still pretty anti-human. Very alert, and territorial about good worm-digging spots. She's like having a banty rooster, sometimes: I saw her chase a cat out of the yard once. Doesn't like being handled at all - when I have to toss them back into the coop/run she would rather be chased into coop rather than be picked up and carried like the others. Squawks with the weirdest voice. Protests being petted. The hawk inspired her to discover the space under the stairs to the trailer I use for an office.

Buffy - Buff Orpington - A big girl, and she knows it. Has some lack-of-confidence in her motions due to her size, like when jumping off of the roost. Marginally friendly when younger, likes being handled more now that she's grown. The hawk sent her under the dead VW Beetle I'm saving for my 9-year-old gearhead.

Shadow - Black Australorp - Ninja-chicken! She started squatting like the others when the whole laying thing began, but decided one day to bite me instead. I think she realized I wasn't giving her what a rooster would, and got mad about it. Savvy, wary, independent of the others. The hawk sent her under the trailer.

I've called the hens by name since the day we brought them home, and I talk to them and call them by name when I "tuck them in" for the night. They all know their names, but they don't always WANT to respond - like cats, they're not as obedient as they are self-interested.

We brooded them in the house and we all handled them daily when they were in the house. I think it made a big difference, compared to chickens I remember from my childhood (ow).

 

[seminolewind]

Grace, that sounds so sweet!

Rocketdad, I enjoyed reading about your girls and how the hawk brought out their real personalities. I enjoy the dynamics of my flock. It's fun. I'm still working on trying to see if their sounds mean specific things, like how they communicate.

 

[catfish/okie]

Little Red New Hampshire - Agressive, forward, friendly to me, hustler. Big Red New Hampshire - Calm, easy going, Never in a hurry. Buffy The Buffster Buff Orpington - Independent, vocal, Not so friendly Wellie The Wellster Wellsummer - A whole lot like Big Red but more active. These Hens I raised from Babies Spot 1 BR SLW Cross - Kinda laid back, Not so friendly, A little flighty. Spot 2 BR SLW Cross - Agressive when it comes to treats, Nots so friendly otherwise. Spot 3 BR SLW Cross - Shy, Passive, Bottom of the pecking order. These hens I bought when about 6 weeks old. Buffalo Hump Domineque - Great with the girls, Mostly Quiet, Aware of his surroundings. A roster a friend gave me I named him after a Comanche chief.

 

[Mahonri]

FLock personalities?

I have a speckled sussex I call Cyn for short. I swear she knows it all and lets everybody know she knows.
I have a black star I've started calling Terrie, if ANYONE gets out of line, she puts them back in line toot sweet... oh, and she is VERY productive LOTS OF EGGS.
I also have a nifty roo that tries to keep everyone safe and a leghorn that sings the egg song long and loudly very frequently... her name is debi.

I could go on....